CLIMATE CHANGE CARBONby Burton Dorley | 05-07-2014 18:01 |
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Critics of the idea of man-made global warming love this simple fact and have turned it into one of their most potent arguments to sabotage decisive climate People say why is the UN?s climate body the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) list water vapor as a greenhouse gas? It?s because water vapor does not by itself increase temperatures. It amplifies already occurring warming. Water vapor?s role in the Earth?s climate system is defined by the very short time it remains in the atmosphere and actively traps heat. While additional CO2 from factories or airplanes can remain in the atmosphere for centuries, extra water vapor will only remain a few days before raining down as water. The concentration of water vapor in the atmosphere is in equilibrium. The atmosphere can only hold more water vapor if overall temperatures increase. So a small warming effect caused by human CO2 emissions will increase the amount of water vapor in the atmosphere. The added water vapor leads to even more warming, thus amplifying the CO2 warming effect. Water vapor follows temperature changes, it doesn?t cause or, as climatologists say, ?force? them. As a feedback effect, water vapor is comparable to a car?s turbo charger that increases a motor?s power. However, the amount of water vapor in the atmosphere changes regionally. While there is virtually no water vapor above deserts or the Arctic and Antarctic regions, the air above the equator can consist of up to four percent water vapor. In humid equatorial regions, where there is already a strong natural greenhouse effect, additional CO2 and water vapor have little impact on local climate. The opposite is true in cold, dry places, which is one reason why warming is much more pronounced in Polar regions |
